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Chicago Tribune: Rauner and the trouble with AFSCME's sweetheart deal
What does a construction worker employed by a private contractor have in common with an accountant at the Illinois Department of Revenue?
Not much. But because both workers belong to unions, many mistakenly consider them as one and the same.
In reality, unions that represent people with government jobs are dramatically different from unions in the private sector. This distinction is important to keep in mind over the next few months as the battle between Gov. Bruce Rauner and Illinois’ largest public-sector union intensifies.
Let’s start with work hours.
Governing: Ready to Retire? Avoid Illinois
Three recent studies examining the role of public pension debt on the overall fiscal health of states should be a warning shot for Americans entering retirement age. If you will be living on reduced income when you retire, as most Americans will, you’ll likely want to avoid the states most likely to raise your taxes and cut your essential government services. As reports by J.P. Morgan, PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Mercatus Center show, that dubious distinction goes to Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky and New Jersey.
Due largely to massive unfunded liabilities for public-employee pensions, the fiscal health of these four states doesn’t look promising. If you live there now, you may want to plan on moving to better enjoy your golden years.
In its report, “The ARC and the Covenants,” J.P. Morgan calculated what all 50 U.S states currently spend on bonds, pensions and obligations related to underfunded pensions and retiree health benefits, along with what they would be spending to cover those obligations over 30 years assuming a 6 percent rate of return on investments. Here’s what the report’s authors found:
SJR: Private fundraising about one-fourth the way toward paying for $16M in Executive Mansion restorations
A private fundraising campaign is approximately $4.5 million toward the estimated $16 million cost of restoring the historic Illinois Executive Mansion in Springfield, according to figures released Monday by the campaign.
The goal is to complete the work in time for the 200th anniversary of Illinois statehood in 2018.
Gov. Bruce Rauner and his wife, Diana Rauner, started the campaign early last year with a pledge of no taxpayer dollars spent on restoring the 161-year-old home after decades of neglect.
SJR: AFSCME misleading on employees' strike status
This paper recently reported on the possibility that AFSCME Council 31 employees could go out on strike, perhaps as early as Sept. 1.
As Deputy Director for Labor Relations at the Illinois Department of Central Management Services, one of my goals is to avoid a strike. I therefore feel compelled to correct one item of factually false information the union has provided.
AFSCME incorrectly claims that an employee who fails to join the strikers at the picket line and remains on the job becomes an “at will” employee and thus can be fired without just cause. Not so.
NBC Chicago: Gov. Bruce Rauner Signs Bill Banning Sale of 'Bath Salts'
Gov. Bruce Rauner is signing legislation to ban the sale of synthetic drugs known as “bath salts” in Illinois.
Most states have passed laws to ban the chemicals, which mimic the effects of powerful drugs like cocaine.
The legislation Rauner says he will sign Monday at the courthouse in Taylorville would make selling bath salts a felony punishable with a fine of up to $150,000.